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Florida Judges Must Wear Black Robes

As recently recounted by the Miami Herald, all Florida judges are now obligated to wear black robes without “embellishments.” This order is directly from the top judge himself: Chief Justice Jorge Labarga of the Florida Supreme Court. To some members of the general public, they may be wondering what changed. But to those of us...

FL’s Criminal Justice System: The Courts (Part 1)

In my practice, I find that an extraordinarily high number of clients are simply unaware of how our state’s court system is structured, let alone works. If you count yourself among the unfamiliar, worry not. In a series of blog posts that I’ll caption “FL’s Criminal Justice System,” I will endeavor to break down this...

Money Can’t Buy (Lawyers) Happiness

Everyone has heard the expression “money can’t buy you happiness” before. Evidently, when it comes to being a lawyer, there’s more than a shred of truth to that saying. In a recent article published by the New York Times, “Lawyers With Lowest Pay Report More Happiness,” it was shown that lawyers and law students alike...

Speedy Trial or Fair Trial – Not a “Hobson’s Choice”

As a criminal defense lawyer, I am often faced with a series of inquiries from friends and family like, “How can you represent those people?” (Roy Black has a very interesting blog post (and twist) on this precise question). A less-prevalent, but nonetheless common question is: “Have you ever gotten someone off on a technicality? (And if...

Is Florida’s application of the Circumstantial Evidence Rule at risk?

It would appear that the Florida circumstantial evidence rule is at risk of being, if not outright removed, substantially modified (or, stated another way, clarified). Earlier this month, the Florida Supreme Court heard oral argument in Knight v. State, a constructive possession of cannabis case, to address the issue. The advocate for the State of...